The present invention relates to vehicle interior components and particularly to a seal design for manufacturing a foam-backed panel.
Padded or cushioned vehicle interior components or panels, such as the instrument panel, door panels and the like, have been made by providing a powdered PVC (polyvinyl chloride) slush-molded skin which is held in place over a substrate and back-filled with a urethane foam material in an injection process in which the edges of the skin is sealed using a plurality of clamps for providing a finished product in which the skin, with the padded foam backing, is bonded to an original substrate, such as the edges of a door panel, the edges of an instrument panel, or the like. Although such a process results in a suitable product, the cost of manufacturing molds with the multiple seals for the edges of the skin to prevent the escape of the backing foam material is prohibitive. As a result, the process typically has only been used in luxury vehicles where the additional expense can be supported.
Thus, although the manufacture of relatively expensive, decorative cushioned panels has been accomplished utilizing such tooling, there exists a need for providing an inexpensive, cost effective system whereby cushioned (soft-feel) panels can be employed for vehicles.
The system of the present invention accomplishes this goal by providing an injection molded skin made of an injection molded polymeric material having an edge which is substantially thicker than the major surface of the skin and which edge is shaped to be fitted within a recess in the skin-receiving substrate, such that it forms a seal when cushioned urethane foam material is injected behind the skin between the skin and substrate.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the periphery of the skin, which is attached to the substrate, has a thickness of from three to six times that of the primary thickness of the skin and, in the most preferred embodiment of the invention, the peripheral edge is tapered to allow its easy insertion into a slot of a substrate for receiving the edge of the skin. The utilization of a relatively thick peripheral edge of the skin, therefore, allows it to be held within a recess of the substrate and self-seal without the need for specific clamping seals during the molding process, which greatly reduces the cost of manufacture while providing the same desired cushioned panel for vehicle interior components. The method of manufacturing the panel of the present invention includes the steps of providing a substrate having a slot formed therein for receiving a peripheral edge of a skin of material, introducing a peripheral edge of a skin material having a thickness greater than the overall thickness of the skin into the slot, and injection molding a foam polymeric material behind this skin with a pressure which seals the peripheral edge of the skin to the slot for completing the decorative panel so formed.
These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings.